Atlanta, GA – “The die is cast and the path is clear for America to learn that abortion is not health care. Abortion kills babies and all too often harms the wombs, health, psyche and souls of mothers. By reinstating the ‘Mexico City Policy’ which saves the lives of thousands of babies and women, President Trump is raising the bar for genuine concern for the lives and health of mothers and our children,” says Evangelist Alveda King, Director of Civil Rights for the Unborn for Priests for Life. The Christian Evangelist is a voice for life, women’s equity, and civil rights.

King, along with Bishop Harry Jackson, Pastor Darrell Scott and many other diverse presenters, was a featured speaker at the 58th Inaugural Prayer Service at The National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. She has long noted her confidence in God and not humans, and said: “It was just awesome to attend the worship service with President Trump, Vice President Pence, their wives and families. God will use not only President Trump, but all who are willing to heal America.”

“Thank you President Trump, for caring enough about the lives of women, mothers and children, by reinstating the ‘Mexico City Policy’ during your first 100 days in office.” President Donald Trump signed an executive action on today reinstating the ‘Mexico City Policy, which bars international non-governmental organizations that perform or promote abortions from receiving US government funding. The policy was enacted by the Reagan administration, only to be rescinded by the Obama administration in 2009, allowing during that time, for NGOs that performed abortion procedures to receive US tax payer funding for other programs, including those related to contraception access and post-abortion care.

Referencing data from the popular book RECALL ABORTION by Priests for Life colleague Janet Morana, Evangelist King reminds America that “abortion kills babies, and often injures and kills mothers. The wombs of the women of America have been under siege for far too long. Abortion and harmful contraceptives are not health care.”

Evangelist King also joins Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life in urging Congress to pass “The No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act – H.R. 7.” According to Father Pavone, H.R. 7 will write the Hyde Amendment into permanent law; extending the measures covering all federal spending, as well as ending taxpayer funding of abortion providers through Obamacare.

“Currently, the Hyde Amendment, which has saved an estimated 2 million lives by restricting abortion funding for programs such as Medicaid, must be approved every year by Congress. H.R. 7 will make it permanent, so that it isn’t necessary to have this annual budget battle.

“By extending the Amendment so that it covers all federal spending, not just programs funded through the Health and Human Services spending bill, it will no longer be necessary for Congress to have multiple votes on multiple measures each year regarding abortion funding from various government funding sources,” explains Father Pavone.

NEW YORK – Fr. Frank Pavone today praised President Donald Trump’s action to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, which prevents taxpayer funds from being given to groups that promote or perform abortions abroad.

“Just as he and we have promised, so now we see pro-life fruits of the election unfolding as President Trump has taken immediate action to reinstitute President Reagan’s ‘Mexico City Policy,’” said Fr. Pavone. “Poll after poll shows that Americans do not want their tax money to pay for abortions. Stopping funding to foreign pro-abortion groups is a powerful first step toward doing the same domestically.”

The Mexico City Policy was first adopted by President Ronald Reagan and is named after a United Nations population conference held in Mexico’s capital in 1984. The policy, which has been in effect during Republican administrations and revoked in Democratic ones, bars the U.S. Agency for International Development from giving funds to organizations that promote or perform abortions in foreign countries.

“Thanks to President Trump’s action today, the International Planned Parenthood Federation will no longer be subsidized by taxpayers,” added Fr. Pavone. “And thanks to the president’s commitment to the unborn, we can soon say the same for Planned Parenthood in the U.S.”

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

“It’s ironic that the Women’s March on Washington aims to speak for all women, when half of those killed in abortion are baby girls,” said Janet Morana, co-founder of the Campaign and executive director of Priests for Life. “We also need to stop treating the women killed or injured in abortion as collateral damage.”

Campaign co-founder Georgette Forney, president of Anglicans for Life, said the Women’s March “has embraced a pro-abortion stance, betraying its mission of non-violence, by letting Planned Parenthood and NARAL serve as partners for the event. Therefore, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign has decided that our counter-witness also needs to be present. We do not want people to think all women embrace abortion so we will stand on the sidewalk sharing the truth, ready to offer ministry and help to the hurting.”

Holding signs that say “I Regret My Abortion,” the women will provide a powerful visual contrast to the pro-abortion marchers, as they did in 2004 at the March for Women’s Lives during President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign.

Noting that Saturday’s march is a protest primarily of the election of Donald Trump, Mrs. Morana said, “President-elect Trump is pro-life, has promised to nominate pro-life justices and judges to the Supreme Court and the federal bench, has vowed to defund Planned Parenthood and protect babies in the womb past 20 weeks. We will not march against him.”
Mrs. Forney added: “Many of those participating in the March for Women’s Lives need to see the Campaign’s message and learn that there is help and healing for any one struggling with their abortion experience.”

The Campaign, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year, has been present at the March for Life every year since 2003. Dozens of women and men who regret their abortion experiences tell their stories in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building, where Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton were decided in 1973.

The Campaign began Nov. 11, 2002. As of January 2017, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign has held 1,803 Gatherings in 17 countries and all 50 states, with 6,270 women and men sharing their abortion testimonies. Testimonies have also been shared at 136 high schools and universities in the last seven years, 11 in 2016 alone.

There are 2,506 testimonies posted on the Campaign website, with 421 that are shared via video! Currently there are 17,611 people registered with the Campaign, representing 77 countries.

People who are not ready to join the Campaign, are invited to register their regret. So far, 5,361 women and 625 men have said they regret their abortion or lost fatherhood. Also, 648 women and men have posted memorials to their children.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit our website: www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org

Dr. Theresa Burke, founder of Rachel’s Vineyard, the largest ministry devoted to healing after abortion, just returned from Washington State, where she led a training for clergy. Three dioceses were represented – Spokane and Yakima in Washington and a diocese in Nigeria.

A total of 66 people attended the training in Wenatchee, WA, including 24 clergymen, four deacons’ wives and Sister Mary Rosanna Emenusiobi from Nigeria. She works full time in Nigeria’s largest pro-life, pro-family educational group, Family-Light of the Nation Foundation.

This training was the brainchild of Teresa Drollman, who helped organize 40 Days for Life and has been working to start a new Rachel’s Vineyard retreat site in Wenatchee. Chancellor Monsignor Robert Siller and Father Osmar Aguirre helped plan the conference along with the Rachel’s Vineyard team.

Yakima Bishop Joseph Tyson was also instrumental in making the training happen. Bishop Tyson has initiated a program called Prepares, a nurturing response of the Catholic community to provide families the supportive services needed to help ensure healthy childhood development from pregnancy to age five. For more information click here: http://www.preparesforlife.org/.

“Father Peter Steele, ordained in May, told me this training was invaluable, and ten clergy want to be on the new teams in Washington state,” Dr. Burke said. “This was a valuable trip to help a new team that seeks to offer English and Spanish retreats. There is a very large population of immigrant workers in agriculture who live in Wenatchee and Planned Parenthood is very active in advertising abortion to them. It’s our goal to start a vibrant Latino ministry as well as the new English-speaking retreats.”

Rachel’s Vineyard weekend retreats for healing after abortion are presently being offered at 375 sites across the United States and in over 70 countries, and the ministry continues to expand its outreach. Some Rachel’s Vineyard retreats are hosted by church-based ministries, counseling outreach programs, diocesan Respect Life offices, and crisis pregnancy centers. It is offered in both Catholic and interdenominational settings. Some 33 Catholic dioceses in the United States officially host Rachel’s Vineyard sites.

“People who come to Rachel’s Vineyard will meet people who care about them and the child or children lost to abortion,” said Father Frank Pavone, Pastoral Director of Rachel’s Vineyard. “The retreats are led by those who know the way of healing, and are ready to welcome all into a journey that leads to mercy and peace.”

The ministry’s hotline number, for those in need of healing, is 877 HOPE 4 ME (877-467-3463).

Rachel’s Vineyard, which enjoys the strong personal support of Pope Francis, is a ministry of Priests for Life. For more information on the ministry, go to www.rachelsvineyard.org.

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion, an initiative to raise awareness of the various groups of people impacted by the loss of a child to abortion, in December calls on all priests, pastors and clergy members to preach about the healing power of the Lord in this season of Advent.

“December, and the Advent season, lead us to cry out, “Come, Lord Jesus!” Aware as we are of the many wounds abortion brings, we are more deeply aware of our need for the Savior who comes with healing in his wings,” said Father Frank Pavone, national director of Priests for Life and pastoral director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, which launched Shockwaves nearly two years ago.

Georgette Forney, president of Anglicans for Life and co-founder of Silent No More, noted that for mothers and fathers who have lost a child to abortion, December can bring about a melancholy tied to the awareness that someone is missing from the family celebration of Jesus’s birth.

“I often wonder what my baby’s First Christmas ornaments on the tree would look like, and what she would be doing now,” she said. “It is in these moments when I am most grateful that Jesus came to save a sinner like me.”

Janet Morana, executive director of Priests for Life and co-founder of Silent No More, said that for Catholics, Pope Francis’s recent announcement that all priests throughout the world will continue to be authorized to bring people to full reconciliation after the sin of abortion dovetails nicely with the December Shockwaves theme, Come Lord Jesus!

“The international conversation sparked by the pope’s announcement raises awareness that abortion is a sin that impacts the Church as well as society,” she said. “Forgiveness is available to all who seek it, no matter how they may have been complicit in abortion.

Kevin Burke, co-founder of Rachel’s Vineyard and a Shockwaves architect, said “The Advent and Christmas seasons can be a time of abundant grace and new opportunities for spiritual growth, healing and joy, even for those harmed by the loss of a child to abortion. In fact, this loss can lead us to a deeper faith.”

Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion is an international educational and pastoral effort, launched in January 2015 by the Silent No More Awareness Campaign with the aim of raising awareness about and ministering to a wide variety of groups of people who are impacted when a child is killed by abortion. These groups include mothers, father, grandparents, siblings, survivors, friends, pro-life advocates and those who perform or advocate abortion.

Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, and also Pastoral Director of the worldwide ministries of Rachel’s Vineyard and Silent No More, issued the following statement this morning:

“The announcement of Pope Francis that he is extending indefinitely the faculties of priests worldwide to absolve those who repent of the sin of abortion is something we at Priests for Life both expected and gratefully welcome.

“We are privileged to facilitate the world’s largest ministry of healing after abortion, Rachel’s Vineyard, a ministry about which Pope Francis has personally expressed to me his enthusiastic support and gratitude. Likewise, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign (a joint project of Priests for Life and Anglicans for Life) is one of our projects which, through the power of testimony, invites people to take hold of God’s mercy after abortion.

“We who oppose abortion do not oppose those who have abortions. Rather, we embrace them with mercy and forgiveness. We have ministered to people who have had as many as 25 abortions, and we see that it impacts the entire family: parents, grandparents, siblings, and beyond.

“We will continue to provide training for clergy and laity alike regarding the wounds abortion brings and how to lead people to healing.

“Those who are looking for opportunities for healing and reconciliation after abortion can go to our special website www.AbortionForgiveness.com.”

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion in November will focus on understanding and healing the wounds incurred by pro-life advocates when the children they try to save from abortion are killed despite their efforts.

Sidewalk counselors, pregnancy center workers and other pro-life advocates are on the front lines of the abortion battle. They save many lives by accompanying mothers and fathers facing unplanned pregnancies and praying and intervening with women and their unborn babies at abortion businesses.

Despite their best efforts they are often unable to prevent the child’s death. Being so closely associated with this loss can be a painful and even a traumatic experience. Trauma can have a cumulative effect over time, especially for those active for many years in this movement.

Pro-life advocates can experience some of the same symptoms common to those who experience other kinds of emotional trauma such as depression, anxiety, anger issues and sleep disturbance that can lead to burn-out and a withdrawal from pro life activism.

“The safe and healthy grieving process found in post-abortion recovery programs can be a great resource for those who have been impacted by this vicarious trauma in their pro life ministry” said Kevin Burke, co-founder of Rachel’s Vineyard and one of the architects of the Shockwaves initiative.

“Programs such as Rachel’s Vineyard and Forgiven and Set Free have experienced staff and volunteers who create an atmosphere to facilitate the grieving process for those impacted by abortion loss. As you progress through the healing process, and participate in the exercises and scripture meditations, the wounded heart and soul are opened up to God’s grace. The Lord can cleanse us of any anger, bitterness, despair, anxiety, and depression that can result from front line pro life ministry. “

“Pro-life advocates, in every type of pro-life work, are deeply aware of the thousands of lives lost each day in America despite their best efforts to save them. The Shockwaves initiative, and its November theme, helps us realize that we, too, have to grieve the loss of these children, and that this grieving, both on a personal and community level, has to be very deliberate and intentional,” said Fr. Frank Pavone, Pastoral Director of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign and National Director of Priests for Life.

Healing the Shockwaves of Abortion is an international educational and pastoral effort, launched in January 2015 by the Silent No More Awareness Campaign with the aim of raising awareness about and ministering to a wide variety of groups of people who are impacted when a child is killed by abortion. These groups include mothers, father, grandparents, siblings, survivors, friends, pro-life advocates and those who perform or advocate abortion.

Silent No More co-founders Janet Morana, executive director of Priests for Life, and Georgette Forney, president of Anglicans for Life, said the pro-life movement has been battered by recent court decisions and is facing the possibility that a pro-abortion candidate could be elected president.

“We know that this work can get discouraging, even heart-breaking,” Mrs. Forney said. “People in pro-life need to know this is normal and can be overcome.”

Mrs. Morana added: “Some life advocates have been in the trenches for 30 years or more, and the only way they can carry on is to give themselves a spiritual recharge. We want to make sure every pro-lifer knows where to find help.”

To learn more about Shockwaves, go to www.AbortionShockwaves.com. To arrange media interviews with Silent No More leaders or pro-life activists, call Leslie Palma at 347-286-7277 or email her at leslie@silentnomore.com.

The Campaign began November 11, 2002. As of January 2016, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign has held 1,582 Gatherings in 17 countries & 48 states with 5,978 women and men sharing their abortion testimonies. Testimonies have also been shared at 117 high schools and universities in the last 5 years, 14 in 2015. There are 2,405 testimonies posted on the Campaign website, with 395 that are shared via video! Currently there are 17,049 people registered with the Campaign representing 77 countries.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life.

NEW YORK – In these crucial last days leading up to Election Day on Nov. 8, EWTN has invited Priests for Life full-time Pastoral Associate Father Stephen Imbarrato to celebrate its televised morning Mass. The mass is broadcast worldwide on television, radio and internet (EWTN.com), in English and Spanish. In the United States alone, the television broadcast reaches some 95 million homes.

Father Imbarrato’s full schedule for these Masses is as follows:

Monday, October 24; Tuesday, October 25; Wednesday, October 26; Thursday, October 27; Monday, October 31; Thursday, November 3; Friday, November 4; Sunday, November 6; Monday, November 7; and Election Day, Tuesday, November 8.

NEW YORK – Fr. Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life, has issued the following statement on the third presidential debate between Donald J. Trump and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“The candidates agreed on one important point – in this election, the Supreme Court is the central issue of the campaign. But that’s where the agreement ends.

“Mrs. Clinton defended partial-birth abortion, falsely stated that China no longer has forced abortions, and said it was ‘scare rhetoric’ to say that babies are ‘ripped from the womb’ at nine months. Mr. Trump said that he finds partial-birth abortion unacceptable and that he will appoint justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade and send abortion law back to the states.

“The facts are that babies actually are torn limb from limb by dismemberment abortions. To say they are ‘ripped from the womb’ is not ‘scare rhetoric,’ it’s simply descriptive of what happens in abortions. As for the claim that China does not perform forced abortions on women anymore, human rights experts will vehemently disagree.

“The most crucial fact for this election is that the next President will appoint at least one and possibly two or three justices to the Supreme Court. Our future and the future of countless children’s lives are at stake in this race.”

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

Georgette Forney and Janet Morana, co-founders of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, today took issue with a study published in the journal Contraception that shows most women are sure of their decisions to have an abortion.

Mrs. Morana, executive director of Priests for Life, pointed out that four of the study’s five authors are affiliated with the pro-abortion University of California, San Francisco, and its Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) center.

“Has ANSIRH ever produced a study that showed abortion in a negative light,” Mrs. Morana asked. “I have never seen one. Also, the study selected 500 predominantly white women over 25, which is not a representative sample of women having abortions in the U.S.

“I know from my work in pro-life since 1989, with Silent No More and Rachel’s Vineyard, that coercion and uncertainty are prevalent among women who have abortions. This study does a disservice to women and to the unborn.”

Georgette Forney, president of Anglicans for Life, also noted the authors’ studies “always affirm their theories,” but said this study is virtually worthless, because even those women who were sure of their decisions report feeling regret afterward.

“When we talk about the pain and remorse that we feel after our abortions, we are told there is no such thing as after-abortion regret, and chances are ANSIRH has a biased study about that, too,” she said. “Those of us who have had abortions know the truth. Even if it seemed like an easy decision to make – because of what we saw as a lack of options – it was the worst decision, and it was irrevocable. This study is invalid and meaningless.”

The Campaign began November 11, 2002. As of January 2016, the Silent No More Awareness Campaign has held 1,582 Gatherings in 17 countries & 48 states with 5,978 women and men sharing their abortion testimonies. Testimonies have also been shared at 117 high schools and universities in the last 5 years, 14 in 2015. There are 2,405 testimonies posted on the Campaign website, with 395 that are shared via video! Currently there are 17,049 people registered with the Campaign representing 77 countries.

The Silent No More Awareness Campaign is a joint project of Anglicans for Life and Priests for Life. For more information, please visit our website: www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org